Opportunities and challenges of a population health management approach for improving young people’s mental health

Population Health Management uses available data to tailor services to identified and latent needs. It is advocated by the integrated care system in England, yet challenges remain regarding data availability, linkage, and application. This paper reports on the adoption of a population health management approach to design a complex programme aimed at improving young people's mental health. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with local government public health professionals (PH) (n = 5), intervention leads (n = 3), and one focus group of young contributors to intervention design (n = 5) to explore how population health management informed programme design and was perceived by stakeholders. Data were analysed using Delve.io. Key learning for public health included: (i) Data analysis for the PHM approach was strengthened by a dedicated data scientist, though some regarded the PHM approach as not new; (ii) Routine data had limited capacity to fully identify need, and linking datasets across health, social care, and education remained difficult; (iii) Local insights and co-production with young people were critical in identifying target groups not visible in routine datasets. Routine health data capture only part of the picture, often reflecting those already in contact with services. PHM approaches in public health need to integrate qualitative insights and local intelligence alongside quantitative analysis to address inequalities effectively.